To avoid unpleasant surprises and especially not to spend money for not much, here is what should absolutely be avoided à la carte according to the chefs.
Is going out of your house to order chicken or a pasta dish at a restaurant table really a good idea? What are the dishes to avoid? Why? The chefs tell you what it’s best not to order when you go to a restaurant.
Never order salad
Notice to the followers of diets and eating well: the salad is yes, but not in the restaurant. A chef’s secret says that salad is often made in a hurry with the rest of other ingredients, on a worktop not always very clear. Because of its express preparation, it is imprecise. So you end up with 2 large pieces of iceberg lettuce (sold 4 times its price), for a tiny chicken breast and half a cherry tomato. Especially in restaurants that don’t make it a specialty but rather an accompaniment, expect most of the time to receive something sloppy on your plate.
Absolutely avoid the dish of the day
Yes, exit the eternal dish of the day that we present to you by listing an astronomical amount of ingredients that do not always go well together. You may not know it but there are two types of a dish of the day. The first is the one that is prepared by the chef from the products of the moment and his inspiration. The second is a global bulge of not necessarily very tasty foods, which are either in the process of exhaling overnight or in the bottom of the kitchen refrigerator for some time. Moreover, chef Gordon Ramsay advises not to order if it is a soup. In order to avoid unpleasant surprises, it is recommended to prefer the chef’s specialty to the dish of the day.
Order fish… but not on Monday
This is not very well known but it is better to avoid ordering fish from a restaurant on a Monday. And for good reason, according to chef Anthony Bourdain, most restaurants place their order for fresh fish on weekends, that is to say on Thursday or Friday in anticipation of the weekend crowds. And since the fishmongers are closed on Sundays, those cooked on Mondays date at best from Saturday in terms of purchase… Also, if you order a salmon pavé on a Monday lunchtime, you are not guaranteed to be as good or as fresh as a Thursday evening at dinner with colleagues.
Chicken and eggs are better at home
Going to the restaurant is good but going there to order something that you could prepare yourself for 3 times cheaper, it’s food for thought. Chefs advise against ordering scrambled eggs in restaurants. Firstly because the probability that they are dry and tasteless is very high. Then because it will cost you much less to do them yourself at your convenience. Ditto for the chicken that may arrive very dry from the kitchens where it will have been overcooked to be sure to eradicate the risks of bacterial infections and cost you double a farm chicken that you will have bought.
Don’t order your steak anywhere
The best way to eat a good steak is to go to a restaurant specializing in meat. He will be able to offer you beautiful pieces and cook them with all the necessary knowledge. Outside of these somewhat expensive establishments, you may be disappointed. If you ask for timely cooking, your steak may be overcooked, not enough, too dry, too hard… What’s more, it will probably earn you the wrath of the chef who recommends bleeding cooking to respect the product and preserve the juice. So prefer places specialized in good meat or buy from a butcher shop to grill them directly in your kitchen.
Be careful if you order seafood
To enjoy seafood, there are two criteria to meet. The first: it has to be the season. As with fruits and vegetables, it is best to consume mussels or shrimp when it is the peak season. They will be much better in taste. The second: they must not have traveled too much. It makes more sense to order seafood near the coast than in the high mountains. The more seafood travels, the less fresh it will be. The taste quality is not the same, and in the worst case, you risk poisoning.
Try to stay in the theme of the restaurant
In other words, it would be a shame to order a hamburger in a pizzeria or sushi in a Chinese restaurant. There are enough restaurants for you to find your account everywhere. Unless you haven’t chosen the place where you eat in a group, prefer restaurants where you’ll find exactly what you want to eat. Going to a specialty restaurant to ask for a dish that you would find a la carte everywhere else, it’s still unfortunate. Especially since your pasta will look pale in front of the emblematic dishes of the restaurant, or at least those for which they invest the most effort.
The “gourmet” burger is just a concept
Unless the steak is made of gold leaf, a burger is a burger. Even if it is topped with foie gras or other luxury products like truffles, the probability that it is small quantities, cheap ingredients, or fragrant oils is very high. You will feel like you are eating the luxurious equivalent of a fast food dish, in reality, it is not. You are most certainly being led by the tip of your nose… A dish prepared with elements as cheap as those of the burger can not decently give a finished product worth more than 25 euros. Unless, in the price, you pay for the service. And again.
Avoid fresh or creamy produce in the buffets
Buffets are great, especially on vacation or for brunch. The problem is that food that stays in the window for long hours can pose a health problem. The question arises for everything that is mayonnaise, vinaigrette, tuna, or fresh cream dishes. These elements do not tolerate being exposed for a long time to room temperature or heat. It is, therefore, better to avoid them unless you have a fairly precise idea of the frequency of maintenance and changes of the dishes in the windows. Eating a bad mimosa egg at brunch is a guaranteed intestinal upheaval.
Prefer the bottle to the glass of wine
6 euros a picket, it’s a little expensive. If you order a glass of wine from the restaurant, you will receive a “little ordinary wine”. It will be a bottle that has been lying around in the kitchens for some time or a wine from a cardboard box that you would stare at in the supermarket. So prefer a good bottle that will be opened in front of you and therefore you will at least have the certainty of the provenance. This will prevent you from grimacing by dipping your lips in a tasteless and flavorless drink.
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